Where You Least Expect It
by chocolatequeen
Summary: The Doctor had long given up on finding the person who would say the boring English sentence printed on his wrist. But when he went into Bad Wolf Roasters for a cup of tea, he discovered that sometimes, you find love where you least expect it. soulmates au meets coffeeshop au. Canon-verse Eight, AU Rose.


The late evening light cast a golden glow on Almina as the Doctor walked through the village. He could hear the sounds of the Soul Bonding Festival on the outskirts of town. That was why he was there, but as he crossed the village green, something caught his eye.

"Now that's curious," he mused as he looked into the cheery little coffeeshop. He wasn't sure if he meant the fact that this one business was open when everything else was closed up tight for the holiday, or the name of the shop itself.

"Bad Wolf Roasters."

 _Bad Wolf again._ Those words had been following him for months now, popping up everywhere he turned. Each time, they redirected his attention to some tiny detail that eventually saved his life.

The festival forgotten, the Doctor pushed open the door of the shop instead. The chocolatey, nutty aroma of freshly roasted coffee hit him first, followed by the comforting scent of freshly baked goods.

For a moment, he thought the shop was empty, then a blonde woman stood up from where she'd been crouching behind the espresso machine. "Hi there! Can I get you something?"

Somehow, the Doctor crossed the room without even being aware that he was moving. "I don't suppose you know how to make a decent cup of tea?"

She rested her hip against the counter and shot him a wide, cheeky smile with a hint of tongue peeking through her teeth. To his surprise, the Doctor felt his hearts speed up, and he had to consciously control his body's autonomic processes so he wouldn't blush.

"I don't know, mate," she teased. "This is a coffeeshop, after all…"

"And yet, somehow I'm certain you make an excellent cuppa, Rose," he countered, reading her name off her name tag. As he said the words, he knew they were true. Why his time senses should choose to reveal this young woman's ability to make tea was beyond him, but when her eyes widened in surprised pleasure, he decided he didn't care.

"Might do, yeah. A full pot, or just a cup?" she asked, moving to the register to ring him up.

"Oh, a pot, surely." The Doctor handed her a few local coins, then asked the question that had been nagging at him ever since he'd seen the open sign in the shop window. "Rose… Why are you open today? I would think you'd want to be at the festival with everyone else."

To his surprise, her smile disappeared. She dropped a few smaller coins into his outstretched hand, then tugged her long sleeve down over her wrist.

"My mark went wrong when I was born," she mumbled. "I don't have a soulmate—or if I do, there's no way I'll ever find them. Makes it hard to go to the festival."

Rose shook her head when the Doctor started to apologise. "What kind of tea would you like?" She held out a list, and he got the message—she didn't want to talk about it anymore, not even to hear him say he was sorry.

The tight lines around her mouth and creasing her forehead made the Doctor's hearts ache. He wanted nothing more than to bring her smile back, but for once, the perfectly charming phrase did not immediately fall from his lips.

He barely glanced at the list. "Why don't you surprise me?" he suggested. "Any one of your black teas."

Rose nodded. "You can take a seat, and I'll bring it out to you."

The Doctor nodded reluctantly and did as she asked. _Oh, well done, Doctor,_ he chided himself as he pulled out a chair and sat down. _Of all people, you should know that soulmarks are not necessarily the key to instant happiness people say they are… and yet you chose to bring up the topic with a perfect stranger, hurting her in the process._

Eight hundred years, and the Doctor still had not found the person who would utter the words tattooed on his wrist. He'd given up looking centuries ago, and if he didn't see the mark every day, he might almost have forgotten what the words said.

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed in frustration. He had to make it up to her, but he didn't have a clue what to say. After a moment, he reached into his pocket for pen and paper and started a list of ideas, writing in Gallifreyan so Rose wouldn't know what he was working on when she brought the tea over.

Why he was so determined to make amends, the Doctor couldn't say. All he knew was that he had to see her smile again.

oOoOoOoOo

Rose took as much time to make a pot of tea as she dared. Even though he hadn't known how his words would sting, being reminded of her own inadequacy had hurt.

When the shop door had opened, she'd looked forward to at least the little bit of conversation a customer would provide. Then she'd caught sight of the gorgeous man who'd just stepped inside, and she hadn't been able to resist flirting a little. Her heart had skipped a beat when his blue eyes had twinkled back at her, and when he'd said her name, she'd felt her face turn pink.

She'd suggested a pot of tea, thinking that maybe, since the shop was obviously empty except for him, he might invite her to sit down with him.

And then he'd asked about her soulmark. _Well, no,_ Rose amended. _He just asked why I wasn't at the festival._ Still, after years of being teased about the circles and lines she bore on her wrist instead of words, it was a sensitive topic for her.

Rose looked around the espresso machine and frowned when she saw him bent over the table, scribbling away at something. He seemed to have forgotten she even existed.

She sighed and picked up the tray. The tea was ready, and her pride wouldn't let her give a customer anything less than the best.

"Right, here you go," she said as she set the tray down on the table.

The man looked up and shot her a warm smile, but before she could admire the way his eyes crinkled up, she spotted what he'd been writing. Shock warred with the feeling of being too exposed, and she stumbled back three steps, eager to get away from this stranger who'd somehow seen too much of her.

In her haste to get away, she forgot there were other tables and chairs nearby. A chair hit the back of her legs, and she cursed when she felt herself start to fall.

"Whoa!" A strong arm caught her around the waist and saved her from a hard landing on the tile floor. "Here, why don't you sit with me? There's enough tea for both of us," he offered as he pulled a chair out.

Instead of sitting down, Rose grabbed the chair back and pointed at his paper. "Where did you see those symbols?" she demanded.

He frowned and looked at the paper, then back at her. "They aren't symbols," he explained slowly. "That's my native language."

 _His native language._

Rose pushed up her sleeve with a shaking hand, willingly displaying her soulmark for the first time in years. "Then… then do you know what this says?"

He glanced down at her arm and his eyes widened. "Please, sit down," he pleaded. "My name is the Doctor—I just realised I never told you."

Rose sat down in the chair opposite the Doctor. She felt too jittery to stay seated, but he obviously wasn't going to answer her question until they were both at the table.

Once he was sitting down, she held her arm out again. "Please, Doctor. I thought I was broken, but if it's just in a different language… I need to know what it says."

He rested his elbows on the table and took a deep breath. "It says… I don't suppose you know how to make a decent cup of tea?"

Rose scowled at him. "Already had that conversation, mate."

The Doctor looked steadily into her eyes. "Yes, we did."

The realisation crept slowly over Rose, but even when she grasped what he was saying, she shook her head. "That's pretty convenient," she pointed out. "First person who can read my mark and it just happens to be the first words he said to me?"

The Doctor shrugged out of his green velvet frock coat and unbuttoned the cuff of his shirt. Rose held her breath as he rolled his sleeve up far enough for her to read the English words.

Her mouth went dry, and she had to swallow twice before she could speak. "Can I?" she whispered, reaching out until her fingers hovered over the mark. There was one last test, one more way to be sure they were indeed soulmates.

The Doctor nodded, and she ran her thumb over her words. They both gasped when the black faded into brilliant gold. As they did, a comforting warmth and feeling of belonging washed over Rose, and she couldn't hold back her sigh. She'd never paid attention when people had tried to explain what it felt like to be with your soulmate.

"That's amazing."

"Yes, it is," the Doctor agreed. He took the arm bearing her soulmark and held it gently in his hand. "May I, Rose?"

Rose blinked back tears at the tenderness in his voice. "Yeah. Of course." A moment later, she sucked in a breath when his long fingers traced the first circle, turning it a deep blue.

"Oh, Rose," he murmured as he completed the phrase. "My Rose."

She twisted her wrist and took his hand. "My Doctor," she returned.

The claim teased the Doctor's time senses, but he knew without looking that this was not a timeline he should look at ahead of time.

Instead, he squeezed her hand once and then released it. "Well, Rose, I think we have a lot to talk about. Why don't you pour the tea?"

To his surprise, Rose shook her head and stood up. "Rose?"

"I've been avoiding the Soul Bonding Festival my whole life." She tilted her head back proudly. "Today I'm going with my soulmate."

The Doctor laughed and stood up with her. Driven by impulse and a need to be as close to his soulmate as possible, he picked Rose up and swung her around once before hugging her. Hearing her breathless laughter in his ear made his hearts race, and it took a degree of effort to step back and take her hand.

They still had things to discuss, specifically, his life as a traveller and the bigger-on-the-inside ship. But looking down into Rose's brown eyes, lit with the excitement of an adventure about to begin, the Doctor knew the soulmarks had worked their magic yet again.


End file.
